One morning when I awoke trying to solve a chess problem that had filled my mind as I had put my head upon my pillow that night before, I determined that, henceforth, I should go to sleep thinking of Christ. As the months passed, I discovered that there was much more than a habit involved in this. Here was a proof of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in my heart and mind, controlling even the subconscious element of my life. Then I learned that I must not merely go to sleep thinking about Christ, but that I must go to sleep in communion with Him. I began memorizing verses of Scripture at night and reciting them as I fell asleep. At first these truths were merely objective. “His Name shall be called wonderful,” might be my verse on a certain night. At first I would meditate on this in terms somewhat like those in which I might expound them to an audience–“His Name is full of wonders”; “His Name is the name Jesus, that of the Savior”; “He shall save His people from their sins.” Then there came a change that He brought in my procedure. Those same sentences were altered: “Thy Name is full of wonders”; “Thy Name is Jesus”; “Thou art my Savior”; “Thou shalt continually save me from my sins.” Soon He became more real than the inside of my eyelids. I could not see them though they were close to my eyes. Him I learned to know in everything but the touch. And closing one’s eyes with Christ takes away all fear of sleepless nights. Let others count sheep jumping over a wall; I shall talk with the Shepherd. (Donald Grey Barnhouse)
PR 6:22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
“If possibly you can fall asleep with some heavenly meditation, then will your sleep be more sweet (Pr. 3:21,24-25); and more secure (Pr. 6:21-22); your dreams fewer, or more comfortable; your head will be fuller of good thoughts (Pr. 6:22), and your heart will be in a better frame when you awake, whether in the night or in the morning.” (Henry Scudder)